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3rd
PALAST-Talk:
Holocaust
survivor
Margot
Friedländer appeals for solidarity
Berlin, 3 February 2017
André Puchta
Communications Director
T +49-30-2326 2201
M +49-175-4319 092
[email protected]
www.palast.berlin
Christoph Hoffmann, Dr. Berndt Schmidt, Lea Rosh, Margot Friedländer and André Schmitz.
Photo: Dennis Weinbörner
At the Friedrichstadt-Palast Berlin, General Director Dr. Berndt Schmidt met with
Holocaust witness Margot Friedländer, Grimme Award winner Lea Rosh, former
State Secretary for Culture André Schmitz and TV journalist Christoph Hoffmann
to discuss the necessity and opportunities to make a stand for peace, diversity
and democracy.
“Try to make your life” are the last words passed on to Margot Friedländer by an
acquaintance from her mother after she was arrested by the gestapo on the
afternoon of 25 January 1943. Margot Friedländer managed to survive the
persecution and war, first in hiding in Berlin and then in Theresienstadt concentration
camp. Her parents and brother were murdered in Auschwitz.
Friedrichstadt-Palast Berlin
Friedrichstraße 107
10117 Berlin-Mitte
in the East End Theatre District
General Director:
Dr. Berndt Schmidt
Mediated by André Schmitz, who was State Secretary for Culture at the time,
Margot Friedländer returned to Berlin from New York in 2010 after more than
60 years. “Today I can do something about the forgetting and speak for those who
The Friedrichstadt-Palast is owned
by the City of Berlin.
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are no longer able to.” As one of the final remaining Holocaust survivors still alive
today, she continues to regularly share her memories with schoolchildren at the age
of 95. The holder of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany appeals
for mutual respect: “We are all just human. All with the same blood.” In light of her
horrific experiences during the Nazi regime, her humanistic attitude is both poignant
and modern – and very much at odds with the growing national-populist trends
recently discerned in Germany, Poland, Hungary, the Netherlands, France, Turkey
André Puchta
Communications Director
T +49-30-2326 2201
M +49-175-4319 092
[email protected]
www.palast.berlin
and the USA: “I respect all people, regardless of their religion or skin colour, the
language they speak or whether they are homosexual. The only thing that matters is
that they are good people.” Thus, it is entirely a matter of course for her to also
regularly visit Muslim women involved in the ‘Stadtteilmütter’ initiative in Neukölln.
Lea Rosh, who was the first woman to present the political programme ‘Kennzeichen
D’ of the TV broadcaster ZDF, expressed her dismay at the anti-democratic and
nationalistic developments worldwide. She praised the commitment of many to
express their concerns using peaceful means: “You do not remain alone if you put up
resistance.” Her life’s work is her successful commitment to the Memorial to the
Murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin. This was recently vilified by the AfD right-wing
populist party as the symbol of a failed culture of remembrance with outrageous calls
for a “180-degree turn” in the tradition of atoning for the Nazi era. “We can only
solve the major challenges of our time across state borders and religious
confessions,” adds André Schmitz. He has been involved in exemplary projects for
political and cultural educational work as chairman of the Schwarzkopf Foundation
Young Europe, which supports young people’s development into well-rounded,
politically-aware and responsible citizens.
2016 was also the year in which many learned to hate the internet. Insults, fake
news and the intentional spreading of falsehoods, brutalisation of language in public
discourse, and rise of populists and extremists; a great deal is in motion that it was
not thought possible just a few years ago. “An evening for learning and for passing
on how simple it can sometimes be. And how terrifyingly far reality often is from
tolerance, altruism and mutual understanding,” said Christoph Hoffmann, who has
worked for RTL II News as a presenter since 2014 and is responsible for the
‘Germany’ division at the TV broadcaster’s Berlin studio.
“Our history as the largest propaganda theatre of the Third Reich and our GDR past
show that freedom is not just simply there and can be lost faster than you think. This
is also why we always strive to make entertainment that reflects this attitude,” said
General Director Dr. Berndt Schmidt. The Palast is involved in the Berlin Tolerance
Alliance (Berliner Toleranzbündnis) as well as the Alliance against Homophobia
Friedrichstadt-Palast Berlin
Friedrichstraße 107
10117 Berlin-Mitte
in the East End Theatre District
General Director:
Dr. Berndt Schmidt
The Friedrichstadt-Palast is owned
by the City of Berlin.
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(Bündnis gegen Homophobie). As a theatre owned by the city of Berlin, the theatre
launched the ‘Colours of Respect’ initiative in 2016 as an independent, politicallyneutral statement for all those committed to mutual respect. The Palast already
stopped inviting the ambassadors of countries where people are discriminated
against due to their sexual orientation to premieres back in 2014.
André Puchta
Communications Director
T +49-30-2326 2201
M +49-175-4319 092
[email protected]
www.palast.berlin
Friedrichstadt-Palast Berlin
Friedrichstraße 107
10117 Berlin-Mitte
in the East End Theatre District
General Director:
Dr. Berndt Schmidt
The Friedrichstadt-Palast is owned
by the City of Berlin.